Josh Marshall wonders if the dramatic change in the Gallup polling might not be noise - or, if not, he suggests these two causes:

First is Obamacare repeal, which is now tied to tens of millions of people losing their health insurance coverage. . . . no one buys the idea that tens of millions will lose coverage because the government was somehow forcing it on them in the first place.

The other cause may be less obvious. I believe President Trump's inability to move the bill forward may be hurting him as much or more than the substance and consequences of the bill itself.

You know, my dear Colonel General, I don't really believe that the Russians will attack at all. It's all an enormous bluff. - Heinrich Himmler to Heinz Guderian, December 1944

I see Trump's dishonestly trolling Comey's testimony (intelligence investigation ofTrump's campaign is underway, investigation probes both contacts and coordination, US intelligence did not go around the law to have the Brits spy on Trump) using twitter.

You know, my dear Colonel General, I don't really believe that the Russians will attack at all. It's all an enormous bluff. - Heinrich Himmler to Heinz Guderian, December 1944

• Comey confirmed the FBI is investigating Russia’s meddling in the presidential election, including possible links between the Trump campaign and Moscow. ...• Comey defended the intelligence community's January conclusion that Russian President Vladimir Putin eventually wanted to help Trump win the election...

Trump trolling the hearings on twitter. Trey Gowdy reading lists of Democrats who might have leaked the dope on Flynn, to smear their names. Turner, Republican of OH, describes the investigation of Russian election meddling as a threat to democracy - not Russian attempts to influence the election but the investigation of those attempts. Whole lotta trollin' going on.

You know, my dear Colonel General, I don't really believe that the Russians will attack at all. It's all an enormous bluff. - Heinrich Himmler to Heinz Guderian, December 1944

2017 - the most powerful tool at the disposal of the Commander in Chief is Twitter.

I've come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:

Spoiler:

1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.2. Anything that's invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.3. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things.- Douglas Adams

But I somehow can't see how their flailing would be in any way helpful with the populace at large. Considering approval/disapproval of the Republican Congress with 29%/63% already was below that of the Democrats (32%/60%).

So Donald Trump, the man who calls himself the “law and order candidate,” effectively said at a Wednesday press conference that he “hope[s]” that Russia did, in fact, hack and steal the deleted emails of Hillary Clinton.

Ian Hazard wrote:In order to not allow the communists, Jews, and other anti-American freaks who inhabit this forum a free hand to distort facts, and tell outrageous lies about our new president, I will be posting President Donald Trump's weekly address to the nation in this topic from time to time.

This will continue. Trump cannot admit any fault and the Trumplings (i.e. his supporters) will always believe their God-Emperor.

I wonder if we will get an Ian fly-by.

You said exactly what I thought. Trump NEVER admits error. If something goes wrong, he points fingers at other people. But this has got to be damaging. If the Democrats aren't compiling a dossier for their candidates to use in 2018, they are worse nebbishes than I thought.

But Mulvaney's Sunday comments on the alleged manipulation of labor statistics is just another example of the way these guys {!#%@} all over the place. They make vicious charges, offer no evidence for them, then just fade away, knowing that the charge alone is sufficient among the people they are trying to fool. That's going to be deadly for public life for decades to come. Time to recall some words from a century ago, updated: The lamps are going out all over America. We shall not see them relit in our lifetime.

"When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only, and solely, at what are the facts."

HuffPo's top headline on the congressional hearings shows the problem with Sphincter's contortions and Trump's nah-nah-nah: "Comey Exposes Crackpot."

But they've really got him rattled now. The official story was that he was in Florida on a working week-end. They had to walk that back after he FORGOT TO REMOVE HIS GOLFING GLOVE before getting his picture made.

"When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only, and solely, at what are the facts."

This will continue. Trump cannot admit any fault and the Trumplings (i.e. his supporters) will always believe their God-Emperor.

I wonder if we will get an Ian fly-by.

You said exactly what I thought. Trump NEVER admits error. If something goes wrong, he points fingers at other people. But this has got to be damaging. If the Democrats aren't compiling a dossier for their candidates to use in 2018, they are worse nebbishes than I thought.

But Mulvaney's Sunday comments on the alleged manipulation of labor statistics is just another example of the way these guys {!#%@} all over the place. They make vicious charges, offer no evidence for them, then just fade away, knowing that the charge alone is sufficient among the people they are trying to fool. That's going to be deadly for public life for decades to come. Time to recall some words from a century ago, updated: The lamps are going out all over America. We shall not see them relit in our lifetime.

Exactly. It's enough to make an unfounded accusation and then let it continue. It's enough to make their supporters howl, any rebuttal will be decried as "fake news!"

This is actually clever. Toss a lie out, let the media report it and deny any wrongdoing even after the head of the FBI says it never happened.

“Today I saw one of those places, saw it in all of its horror, all its filth, all its death.”Soldier entering the Ohrdruf Concentration Camp.

The typically-combative Trump did not mention Russia or Comey, who directly refuted the president's allegation that he was "wiretapped" by former President Barack Obama...earlier in the day.

The audience at the Kentucky Exposition Center's Freedom Hall in Louisville was instead treated to remarks bearing a resemblance to Trump's campaign stump speeches. For just over 40 minutes, the president touched on staples of his agenda, including the effort to secure the nation's southern border, repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and prevent instances of terrorism.

Yeah, the AH-CACA were you have the freedom to purchase less coverage for higher cost, must pay a penalty to the insurances if you lapse in the luxury, and which will retain the very popular coverage for adult kids (which is nice for students and those with low income but could help lower cost if dropped or modified) but makes seniors pay half their often meager yearly income for coverage.

The president's tweets throughout the day were misleading, inaccurate or simply false. The gravity of the disclosures might have called for a more restrained response, as a White House well of credibility is only so deep. But the president chose another approach -- which clearly backfired, tweet after tweet.

Matthew Ellard wrote:Trump is really an idiot. He's insulted the FBI, CIA and NSA and he's now going international insulting UK signals intelligence workers at the GCHQ.

It is my guess, that a President making false accusations about the Crown's activities, is a trigger that would allow the JIC to legally start the ball rolling monitoring Trump.

"to monitor and give early warning of the development of direct and indirect threats and opportunities in those fields to British interests or policies and to the international community as a whole"

I'm dying for trump to insult the German BND, who monitor Russian communications.

Nothing new about him being a wanker... Living in Philly for years and watching loads of stuff regarding his activities in Atlantic City, there's scads of news of what a criminal piece of {!#%@} he is.... laying around in newspaper archives, his contacts with the 5 families in NYC and here. He's a {!#%@} pig. Then/now.

Sphincter yesterday said that Paul Manafort, sought by Ukraine prosecutors for questioning, had a "very limited role" in Trump's campaign. He was in the minor role of first convention manager, then campaign chairman. The DOJ has refused to respond to requests from Ukraine to help in their investigation of Manafort - two formal requests and five reminders have gone unanswered, one request having been sent directly to Comey. Manafort may not even be called as a witness by the House intelligence committee, POLITICO reports, because Republicans with their majority control the list of witnesses.

In his Kentucky rally last night, Trump didn't mention Comey's disclosures - intelligence investigation of his campaign's contacts with Russia, no Obama wire tapp - but trotted out his old campaign talking points instead. He did call for the draining of the swamp he keeps filling with Goldman Sachs types and other lagoon creatures. And took credit for the fact the no football team will sign Colin Kaepernick. And went on a ramble praising Henry Clay and the American System, the same Henry Clay who Trump's supposed hero Andy Jackson regretted not shooting.

Meanwhile, in trivial stuff, Tillerson's nearly media-free tour of Asia is being panned for exposing his own poor preparation and making stark US policy incoherence - and it is announced that Tillerson will skip the next NATO meeting.

Sounds like he's already found a scapegoat for his supporters to hate even more and to carry his promised tax cuts fiasco (presumably a partial failure, one might think - swamp dwellers will be pleased with the proposals): Trumpcare must happen first, then the promised land (as Ryan said, first they need to clear what's related to the ACA regarding taxes so it's easier for them to ruin those later...).

"When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only, and solely, at what are the facts."

Statistical Mechanic wrote:Sphincter yesterday said that Paul Manafort, sought by Ukraine prosecutors for questioning, had a "very limited role" in Trump's campaign. He was in the minor role of first convention manager, then campaign chairman. The DOJ has refused to respond to requests from Ukraine to help in their investigation of Manafort - two formal requests and five reminders have gone unanswered, one request having been sent directly to Comey. Manafort may not even be called as a witness by the House intelligence committee, POLITICO reports, because Republicans with their majority control the list of witnesses.

I'm recalling the "Bobby Who?" scandal under LBJ. In 1963, LBJ said Bobby (last name, I forget) was "the first person I see every morning and the last person I see at night." Then, in 1965, after Bobby got investigated, LBJ said he had practically no dealings with him. The show "That Was the Week that Was" (known as TW3), ran a story about "the Lyndon Bird, which, in distress, emits a plaintive cry of 'Bobby who?'. Background for the youngsters: LBJ's wife was Lady Bird Johnson, and his daughter was Lynda Byrd Johnson.)

Statistical Mechanic wrote:Meanwhile, in trivial stuff, Tillerson's nearly media-free tour of Asia is being panned for exposing his own poor preparation and making stark US policy incoherence - and it is announced that Tillerson will skip the next NATO meeting.

Thanks for that info. I had the impression that Tillerson was a voice of sanity that the Chinese were eager to deal with in preference to Trump. If he screwed this up, we are in trouble indeed. Well, that's business. It's also the reason business people shouldn't be running diplomacy.

"When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only, and solely, at what are the facts."

Upton_O_Goode wrote: ... I'm recalling the "Bobby Who?" scandal under LBJ. In 1963, LBJ said Bobby (last name, I forget) was "the first person I see every morning and the last person I see at night." ...

Statistical Mechanic wrote:Sphincter yesterday said that Paul Manafort, sought by Ukraine prosecutors for questioning, had a "very limited role" in Trump's campaign. He was in the minor role of first convention manager, then campaign chairman. The DOJ has refused to respond to requests from Ukraine to help in their investigation of Manafort - two formal requests and five reminders have gone unanswered, one request having been sent directly to Comey. Manafort may not even be called as a witness by the House intelligence committee, POLITICO reports, because Republicans with their majority control the list of witnesses.

I'm recalling the "Bobby Who?" scandal under LBJ. In 1963, LBJ said Bobby (last name, I forget) was "the first person I see every morning and the last person I see at night." Then, in 1965, after Bobby got investigated, LBJ said he had practically no dealings with him. The show "That Was the Week that Was" (known as TW3), ran a story about "the Lyndon Bird, which, in distress, emits a plaintive cry of 'Bobby who?'. Background for the youngsters: LBJ's wife was Lady Bird Johnson, and his daughter was Lynda Byrd Johnson.)

Statistical Mechanic wrote:Meanwhile, in trivial stuff, Tillerson's nearly media-free tour of Asia is being panned for exposing his own poor preparation and making stark US policy incoherence - and it is announced that Tillerson will skip the next NATO meeting.

Thanks for that info. I had the impression that Tillerson was a voice of sanity that the Chinese were eager to deal with in preference to Trump. If he screwed this up, we are in trouble indeed. Well, that's business. It's also the reason business people shouldn't be running diplomacy.

WTF!!! The latest issue of The Atlantic arrived yesterday, and the cover teased the reader with the headline, "How Kellyanne Conway Controls Her Boss". Huh! Who said this man is under control? The actual story, though, on p. 44, gives a different impression:

"When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only, and solely, at what are the facts."

Upton_O_Goode wrote: ... I'm recalling the "Bobby Who?" scandal under LBJ. In 1963, LBJ said Bobby (last name, I forget) was "the first person I see every morning and the last person I see at night." ...

Maybe that was his pet name for his peepee....

LBJ was very proud of his equipment. He would often call a secretary in, then urinate into the sink while she was there. He also urinated on the Senate parking lot, making sure to do so when the secretaries were leaving work for home.

"When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only what are the facts and what is the truth that the facts bear out. Never let yourself be diverted, either by what you wish to believe, or by what you think would have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only, and solely, at what are the facts."